Maine Struck by Second Earthquake in Just Days: What’s Behind the Tremors?

Small Earthquake Strikes Off the Coast of York, Maine, Following Larger Quake Earlier This Week

YORK, Maine (WMTW) — A magnitude 2.0 earthquake struck off the coast of York Harbor early Wednesday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake occurred about 5.5 miles southeast of York Harbor, nearly identical in location to a magnitude 3.8 earthquake that shook the region on Monday. While residents across New England and even as far as Pennsylvania reported feeling Monday’s quake, it’s still unclear whether Wednesday’s tremor was an aftershock or a completely separate event.

Maine is no stranger to seismic activity, typically experiencing several noticeable earthquakes every year. In 2024, four quakes with an epicenter in Maine were strong enough to be documented by the Maine Geological Survey. The largest of these occurred on July 28, when a magnitude 2.8 quake hit West Gardiner.

Understanding Earthquakes in Maine

While Maine’s earthquakes are typically small, the Richter scale, which measures earthquake magnitude, is logarithmic. This means a magnitude 3.8 earthquake, like the one on Monday, had 10 times the ground motion of the smaller tremor on Wednesday, and more than 10 times the strength of the earthquake that occurred in West Gardiner in July.

As Maine continues to experience occasional seismic events, the mystery of why these earthquakes occur in the region remains a topic of interest for geologists and residents alike.